


Fundraising for Rockets

by Metal_Chocobo



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Pets, model rockets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-08
Updated: 2014-02-11
Packaged: 2018-01-11 14:10:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1174012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metal_Chocobo/pseuds/Metal_Chocobo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Ordon Gamer's Union decides to shoot off model rockets for their end of the year celebration, they get stuck… washing pets for funds?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Pet Wash

Most school clubs sold candy bars to earn money. Others sold coupon books, wrapping paper, or held bake sales. None of these were options for the Ordon Gamer’s Union. Oh no, they were operating a pet wash; most of their customers were dogs, but some cats too.

This was not Link’s idea, or Kafei’s (the club president), or even Sheik’s (the vice-president) idea. It was Malon’s idea and she proposed it forcefully enough that no one dared to suggest anything else. Her plan landed Link and the other boys next to tubs of soapy water while Malon happily collected money for their labor. 

Link sighed as he finished drying off a Chihuahua. This was the seventh dog—although Link privately counted it as six dogs and a Chihuahua, as Chihuahua were too small to be proper dogs in his mind—he had washed this morning. He needed a break. His hands looked like they had become red wrinkled raisins and it hurt to put his hands in the soapy water. However, one look at Malon told Link that the longest break he’d be allowed was the time it took to fill his tub with clean water.

They had been having steady business all morning. Malon had been certain to get their pet wash in the school paper and to have the boys put up flyers across town. They had gotten a much bigger response than expected. Colin, their newest member, had just been sent to buy more pet shampoo. So far they had washed forty-two dogs (three Chihuahua), eight cats, and a pair of ferrets. Considering the fact that they were charging $10 a dog and $15 a cat (the ferrets were priced at $12 each, the little blighters tried to take off Sheik’s arm), they were making a tidy profit.

When Link returned to his station with a tub of clean water, he found an extremely pale girl with red hair with a giant beast waiting. The girl grinned strangely at Link when she handed over the leash.

“Be a good boy, Link,” she cackled, patting the wolf’s head.

Link was more than a little surprised that the girl knew his name. He had never seen her before in his life. The redhead left before Link could ask her anything though. Link stared at the very wolfish looking dog. He was a large brute, and looked like he might weigh as much as Link did. The blonde was amazed that the petite girl could control such an animal. He decided that it had to be a wolf, since no dog could possibly be that vicious looking.

“Well there…” Link addressed the wolf, fumbling with its tags. “…Link? Oh, you can’t be serious. Your name is ‘Link,’ wolfy?”

Link-the-wolf snorted in response. He then buried his snout in Link’s groin.

“Great,” Link sighed, removing the wolf. He stuck the canine in the tub and an epic battle ensued.

Apparently Link-the-wolf did not like taking baths. As soon as the water touched his coat, the wolf started barking and thrashing about. Link was pulled into the tub with him. After they were both thoroughly soaked, Link managed to grab the soap. He scrubbed the gunk in as best as possible, working the stuff into a foamy lather in the wolf’s fur. They both got soap in their eyes, which sent them both howling.

Link had had enough and the same seemed to be true for Link-the-wolf. With one great leap Link-the-wolf bounded out of the tub and pulled Link all the way into the tub. If there had been a dry spot left on Link, that wasn’t the case anymore.

A moment later both Links were yelping as cold water slapped them. Sheik had decided to take ‘pity’ on Link and help him get soap off the canine. A lot of the cold water from the hose also hit the boy. To try and get away from the water Link-the-wolf trampled Link. That didn’t endear the animal to him.

After Link had finished drying the wolf, which was an ordeal he didn’t even want to think about, the pale redhead took him back. Link couldn’t say he was sad to see Link-the-wolf go. The beast had gnawed on Link’s arm as he dried the animal, but he couldn’t complain, since the wolf hadn’t broken his skin. Malon would only call him a baby.

Sighing again, Link stripped off his now soaked shirt. He didn’t need his now wet shirt to get ripped up by another dog (or even worse, a cat). After stretching, he went and refilled the tub. At the moment he was cursing Malon’s name for having chosen this as the way for the Gamer’s Union to earn its money.

Several hours passed as the boys scrubbed more pooches. Starting at noon, Malon allowed one person at a time to have a lunch break. She didn’t want to spare anymore than that at a time, it would bring down their productivity if her slaves… err, _friends_ talked during their breaks. By luck of the draw Link was last in line for lunch.

Link grinned as he watched Ralph trot back to his tub. Since Ralph was finally back it meant he could go and eat. _‘It’s about time,’_ Link thought, glaring at the redhead. _‘Ralph eats faster than a starved pack of dogs. I bet he wasted half an hour just to torment me.’_

Since the only clothing Link had on were a pair of soaked swim trunks, Link figured he’d mooch off Sheik and his lovely refrigerator. One of the few benefits of washing dogs in Sheik’s front yard was that Link had access to Sheik’s food. Unlike Link’s family, Sheik’s family could actually cook. Link had been eyeing a slice of gooseberry pie he had seen earlier, and if anyone had eaten it he was going to scoop their eyes out with a spork.

“Umm… excuse me,” a woman started, just after Link had taken a step away from the tub.

He turned, recognizing the voice. It was Zelda, a girl he knew from his English class. She didn’t sound like her usual confident self. It fact, Link noticed she was chewing on her lower lip and looking at Link as if he would leap out and bite her. She was holding a cat.

“Do you see that handsome albino with the blonde dyed hair?” Link asked, pointing out Sheik. “He is just the man to wash your cat for you.” He was not getting stuck washing a cat before he ate lunch. The little monsters took forever and were dangerous. Kafei nearly had his throat ripped out when the cat he was washing decided that severing the artery in Kafei’s neck would be fun.

With a wave, Link walked away from Zelda and her cat. He got halfway to the house before Malon noticed and pounced on him.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” she demanded.

“Into Sheik’s,” Link answered, jerking his thumb at the door behind him. “For lunch.”

“You have a cat to wash,” Malon said. “You can’t leave a customer waiting. That’s bad for business.”

“Have Sheik do it,” Link snapped, “or Kafei, or Colin, or Dark, or one of the other guys. You could even do it.”

“I’m management; I don’t wash cats,” Malon explained slowly, as if talking to a two-year-old. “You have to do it, Link, because I promised everyone that no one would have to wash a second cat before everyone had washed one. And you, my friend, are the only one who hasn’t washed a cat yet.”

“But I don’t wanna,” Link whined.

“Tough cookies,” Malon said. “Now go do your job.” 

Link unhappily dragged himself back to the tub. After staring critically at the cat for a moment he said, “Your cat is deaf.”

Zelda blinked in surprise before nodding. “How did you know Blizzard is deaf?” she asked, handing Link the purring cat.

“Blizzard here,” Link began, flicking the bell on the cat’s collar, “is a white kitty with blue eyes. Most cats with white coats and blue eyes are deaf. It seemed like a safe assumption. Is he de-clawed?”

“No,” Zelda said, “she isn’t.”

Link just shook his head, smiling bitterly. The Goddesses really seemed to want to give him a trying day. _‘At least I can take a long lunch break after this,’ Link thought._

He carefully lowered the cat into the water and started to wash her. She took the washing relatively well, with no real amount of struggling to get free or yowling. Blizzard did sink her teeth into Link’s hand and attacked his wrists, but she only seemed to do it for show. The lacerations did not even look like they needed stitches.

Since she was being such a good kitty, Link was able to wash her quickly and then gently dried her off. Unlike the other owners, Zelda had stayed by his side to be moral support for Blizzard, although Link doubted the cat appreciated it.

“Blizzard’s a good kitty,” Link said, stroking the cat’s head.

“Thanks,” Zelda smiled, reaching out her hands for her pet.

This was when Blizzard decided that she had enough. She leaped out of Link’s arms, zigzagged around several people, and escaped under Sheik’s fence. As the hind end of Blizzard scurried under the fence, Link realized that Blizzard was still technically his responsibility. Then he took off after her.

Vaulting over the fence, Link scared the cat, who was recuperating her pride on top of the sundial. She took off again when Link got up, fleeing through the garden into the neighbor’s yard. Link followed in hot pursuit. The chase lasted a little over three blocks. By all rights Link should have caught her before she made it out of Sheik’s yard; he was bigger, faster, and had a longer reach. Still Blizzard was able to swerve and weave her way about, eluding Link every time he had almost gotten a hold of the cat.

Finally, Link chased Blizzard up a tree. She was securely connected to one of the branches above his head and didn’t look like she was moving anywhere anytime soon. Keeping an eye on Blizzard, Link pulled out his cell phone and called Sheik.

“Kakorki Graveyard,” Sheik answered. “ReDead free since 1833.”

“It’s Link,” Link said. “Is Zelda still there?”

“Huh? Who?” Sheik asked, confused.

“Zelda, the blonde girl, who’s fracking cat I’m chasing,” Link growled a little. “Now is she there or what?”

“Oh her,” Sheik laughed. “Sure, I’ll put her on.” Link heard voices and fumbling noises as the pone exchanged hands. Then Zelda was on the line.

“Link?”

“I’ve got your cat cornered,” Link said, before correcting himself. “Actually, she’s up a tree, but Blizzard isn’t going anywhere.”

There was a pause before she asked, “Where are you?”

“We are,” Link glanced around, noticing the street sign, “just off the corner of Ginko and Deku.”

“I’ll be right there… Don’t do anything stupid.” She hung up, leaving Link with a dial tone.

Link waited impatiently for Zelda to get there. He just wanted to get that stupid cat out of the tree and go eat. A speedy obstacle course on an empty stomach was not what he had in mind when he had gotten up that morning.

“Where is she?” Zelda inquired, climbing out of her car.

“Shall I go up now?” Link asked lazily, rubbing one of the cuts on his chest that he had gained while chasing Blizzard. 

“Umm… sure,” Zelda replied, attention now focused on Blizzard. “Try not to drop my cat. Probably don’t want to fall either.”

Link smiled thinly as he grabbed onto the tree’s trunk. “I just love how your only concern is for dear Blizzard,” he drawled.

“I warned you not to fall,” Zelda reminded him. “But seriously, Link, be careful.”

Link hid a real smile as he started to climb. Climbing a tree—especially one without any low branches—was difficult barefoot. At least it was difficult for Link. He had very little callous build up on his feet, so his soles were extremely sensitive to the rough bark. Having tender feet also meant he was having a hard time getting a grip on the trunk.

It was slow going getting up to that first branch, but once Link was on it he could easily grab the other close branches. As he edged closer to Blizzard, the cat carefully crept away. When they were both on the last branch, Link made a swipe for her. Blizzard made a swipe back then leaped onto another tree.

Cursing bitterly, Link climbed down the tree. Unlike Blizzard, Link couldn’t leap from tree to tree. After he climbed up the next tree, the same thing happened. When Link had climbed up the third tree, he stopped and stared at the cat.

“Hey Zel?” he called out.

“Hmm, what’s up?” Zelda asked, walking toward the tree.

“Can you shimmy up that tree there?” Link asked, pointing at a nearby tree. “I think she’ll be making her great escape over there.”

Zelda gave him an incredulous look before walking over to the tree. “You really want me to climb this tree?”

Link shrugged before saying, “It’s your cat.”

Grumbling, Zelda started climbing the tree. She wasn’t as efficient as Link, although Link had to admit she was making excellent progress considering the fact that she was in a dress. Panting slightly, Zelda climbed up onto the branch her cat was most likely to lean on to when she tried to escape from Link.

Since Zelda was in position, Link made his move. Blizzard saw him sneaking forward, so she turned to leap to the next tree, but faltered when she saw Zelda on her landing pad. This was the weakness Link needed. With lighting speed he wrapped his hands around Blizzard’s middle. The cat had finally been caught!

Smiling cheerfully, Link leaned back. Only, there was nothing behind him, so he lost his balance and fell off the branch. Link landed on his back, still holding Blizzard up in the air. Zelda slid down the tree and rushed over to Link. He refused to let the cat wriggle out of his grasp.

“Are you alright, Link,” Zelda asked, touching his neck.

“Take the cat,” Link groaned.

“What?” Zelda yelped, not expecting him to actually say anything.

“Take the fracking cat,” Link growled. “I don’t want it getting away.”

Zelda carefully pried Blizzard out of Link’s hands and stuck the cat in her carrier. Then after the cat was securely in the car, she returned to Link’s side. He was lying on the boulevard. She touched his shoulder, but then removed her hand.

“What are you doing?” Link asked, watching Zelda’s expressions change.

“I’m trying to figure out if I should turn you on your side or not to check for breaks,” Zelda said. “If your spine really is broken, I should really just call for an ambulance and not mess with your back.”

“I’m fine,” Link laughed. “Really, it was just a ten or fifteen foot fall. I’ve had worse. Everything feels fine.” Actually everything felt numb, but Link wasn’t going to mention that. “Just had the wind knocked out of me, that’s all.”

“You’re lucky you landed where you did. If you had been over a couple of inches either way, you would have hit either the street or the sidewalk, Link.” Zelda shook her head. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“I’m fine,” Link insisted, starting to get up. He barely managed to hold in a scream when his back lit itself on fire.

“So you’re fine, I can totally see that,” Zelda agreed sarcastically. 

“Okay, you’re right, I’m not fine,” Link admitted. “But nothing’s broken. I can feel and move everything. See?” Link wriggled his fingers and toes in demonstration.

“Fine. I won’t take you to the hospital,” Zelda conceded. “But I’m taking you home and making certain you don’t have any serious injuries.”

“Thanks,” Link managed weakly. “I don’t think I could make it home on my own right now.”

Zelda helped him into her car. There was no mention of the fact that his entire backside was covered with mud. After a very illegal and seatbeltless ride to Link’s house, the teenagers stumbled through the front door.

With Zelda’s help, Link managed to get up the stairs and into the bathroom. Link took a bath. He wasn’t really certain what Zelda was up to while he was in there, but Link’s main concern was scrubbing off the mud, blood, and plant stains that he had collected. The hot water also helped relax all his strained muscles. By the time Link left the bathroom, he was clean, warm, and doped up on Tylenol.

Link poked his head into the hallway to look around. When he didn’t see Zelda anywhere, Link scurried across the hall and into his bedroom. He quickly locked the door and started hunting for clean underwear. Once he was dressed, Link was ready to face Zelda. 

Link found Zelda sitting at the kitchen table with a box of delivery pizza. She smiled at him, but quickly stopped when she realized that gooey cheese was trailing from her slice of pizza to her mouth. Link sat down across from her at the table and took a slice.

“I didn’t hear the bell ring,” Link said.

“It didn’t. Since I needed your address, I just waited outside for it,” Zelda explained. “How’s your back?”

“Much better,” Link grinned. “Pain meds are a wonderful invention.” There was a silence as they both ate pizza. “How much do I owe you?” Link asked.

“How much do you owe me…” Zelda trailed off, before realizing what Link meant. “Oh! Don’t worry about it. You saved me thirty bucks washing Blizzard and then you went to the trouble of catching her after she escaped. Pizza’s on me.”

“Where is the little darling anyway?” Link asked dryly, glancing around. He didn’t need the cat getting revenge upon him by puking on his favorite hat or something. That would be really gross.

“Sitting in her carrier by the front door,” Zelda answered promptly. “I hope you don’t mind me bringing her into the house. I didn’t want her frying in a hot car.”

“That’s fine as long as she isn’t let out.” Link winced suddenly. He had just remembered that he was due back at Sheik’s for more animal washing.

As if reading his mind, Zelda said, “While you were taking a bath, I called Malon to let her know you hurt your back catching my cat. She says you’re off the hook, but she expects you to do extra work for the Union. What did she mean by Union?”

“Gamer’s Union,” Link explained. “We play D and D, a lot of computer and video games, and host large battles with miniatures. The fundraising is so that we can build several rockets and launch them next month.”

“You’re going to be shooting off rockets?” Zelda asked excitedly.

“Yeah, I guess you could call it fundraising for rockets,” Link laughed. “It’s gonna be a ton of fun.”

“Can I come?”

Link scratched the back of his head. “Well, you’d probably have to join the union before you’d be able to come. We can always use more members. You’d certainly be welcome and I’d love to have you there. It’s gonna be better than Narnia.”

Zelda’s jaw dropped. “Nothing’s better than Narnia,” she insisted in mock seriousness.

“I-I’ve got a copy of the movie if you’d like to watch it,” Link offered hesitantly.

“I’d love to,” Zelda said.

They hung out together in Link’s living room and watched _The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_. It was a bit weird watching Aslan leap about on screen next to Zelda. Sure he had class with her, but Link had never really interacted with her. They just moved in different circles.

After the movie was over there just wasn’t any reason for Zelda to be at Link’s house. Link carried Blizzard back out to the car for her. 

“If I had any idea you were a fan of C.S. Lewis, I would have invited you over ages ago,” Link grinned, sticking the carrier in the back seat. “You know I’ve got a copy of the BBC's versions of the later books.”

“I’ll definitely have to check them out. Maybe next time we get together we can skip the cat chase,” Zelda agreed. “And about Gamer’s Union?”

“We meet on Wednesdays. Just show up and that’ll be great. Everyone will love you,” Link assured. “Malon’s been insisting that we need more girls in the club anyway.”

“Hmmpf, well I’ll see you on Monday, Link,” Zelda said. Then she drove off as Link waved goodbye.

When Link got back into the house he found a note on the counter. It wasn’t very long, but it did leave Link with Zelda’s phone number. One part of the note surprised Link though.

 _‘It wasn’t a mistake she didn’t show up with Blizzard until after all the other guys had washed a cat.’_ Link pondered over this statement. After thinking for a while he started laughing. A though had popped into his head that made his crappy day a pretty good on after all. _‘By the Triforce, I think Zelda likes me.’_


	2. Rocketing Ruckus

**Wednesday—Gamer’s Union Meeting #222 (meeting #32, of the sixth year)**

“We did great, guys,” Malon said, signaling the start of the meeting.

“How great is ‘great?'” Kafei asked.

“Well, after taking time to consider the pet shampoo, the tubs, the water Sheik’s family is charging us—”

“Sorry,” Sheik mumbled.

“We made a profit of roughly $400.”

“How rough?” Kafei asked.

Malon checked her notes. “$407.23.”

There was a rumble of approval through the group. The Ordon Gamer’s Union seemed to find this amount acceptable. If his back didn’t still hurt, Link would have liked this amount too. It had been a few days since the pet wash, but he was stiffer than a frozen tuna.

“Since everyone’s here, I guess we can get going,” Malon said. “We can afford four rockets easily. Or five if we don’t want to have quite as many runs. I suppose we could spend everything we earned on lots of engines and rockets, but I want us to have a buffer for our next big project.”

“Ooo, Link! We should get Big Bertha!” Dark exclaimed, draping himself over Link.

“I don’t want a rocket named ‘Big Bertha,’ Dark. Besides, I’m working with Sheik,” Link said, unhooking the other boy from his back.

“Oh, I see how it is,” Dark sniffed. He flounced over to Fierce and grabbed onto the senior. “Fierce and I will build Big Bertha and you’ll be wishing you had taken me up on my offer.”

“Weirdo,” Link muttered.

“But we love him,” Sheik said. “Shall we go?”

Sheik then proceeded to tell the group about his plan to bring back Shakespearean slang. Link was so wrapped up in Sheik’s plain (which was really quite ingenious) that he slammed into someone as he left the school building. As fate would have it—and fate is always cruel—he had bumped into Zelda. There was a great enough difference in their masses that the collision sent her sprawling. Link stared in shock for a moment before quickly bending down to help her.

_‘Crap, crap, crap,’_ he thought. _‘That was not cool.’_

“Are you okay, Zel?” Sheik asked, waving the other gamers on. “Doofus here didn’t crush you, did he?”

“No,” Zelda said, brushing herself off. Link meekly handed over her books. “Here’s my math book,” she laughed, noticing the book on the top of the pile. “I thought it was in my locker. I guess I don’t have to go back and get it.”

“Since you don’t have to be here at school, would you like to go shopping with us?” Link offered.

“This is unusual, I’ve never had a man suggest a shopping trip to me before.”

“It’s for rockets.”

Her eyes lit up. “The rocket thing is today? I am totally in.”

“You told her about the rockets?” Sheik demanded.

“Yeah,” Link said.

Sheik grabbed Link by the ear and shook him. Turning to Zelda he asked, “Could I have a moment with my associate please?” At her shrug, Sheik dragged Link away a few feet. “When did you tell her about the rockets?”

“When did you get on a pet name basis with Zelda?” Link shot back.

“She’s my cousin.”

“Since when?”

“Since I was ten; my aunt married her dad.”

“Really? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think it was important… wait a minute, do you like her?”

“What? No way!”

“You do,” Sheik laughed. “I can’t believe that my little boy has a crush on Zelda. Should I defend my cousin’s honor or protect you from her wily influence?”

“You tell her anything and Yoda goes bye-bye,” Link threatened.

“You wouldn’t dare hurt Yoda,” Sheik shot back.

“No I wouldn’t, but I can still kidnap him.”

“Zelda isn’t my cousin by blood.”

“No, she isn’t.”

“I guess I can help you out. But we have to be honorable, like Zorro.”

“But of course.”

“It took you guys long enough,” Zelda said when they returned.

“Sorry,” Link said. “Sheik found a problem in our world domination plan.”

“You have a world domination plan?” Zelda asked, smiling. “I have a world domination plan too.”

As they discussed their various plans, they piled into Sheik’s car. By the time they arrived at the model shop the teenagers decided to merge their plans. It was a cheerful trio that ran into an annoyed Malon when they entered the shop.

“Sheik, Link, you’re late,” Malon said.

“Sorry Malon,” the boys mumbled.

“Can I join?” Zelda asked.

The redhead didn’t even blink. “Sure, but only if you join up with an already existing group.”

“Can I join up with you guys?” Zelda asked Link and Sheik.

Link froze. While he had invited Zelda to the Union and even dragged her to the shop, he hadn’t been expecting Zelda to want to join up with his group. She may or may not like him, but wouldn’t she still want to work with Malon? They had similar brain waves and pheromones or something. And if she joined up with Link, there was a much higher chance Zelda would see Link do something stupid.

“Sure,” Sheik said. At Link’s grimace, Sheik added, “We’d love to have you with us.”

They moved into the aisles to look at rockets. Much to Link’s surprise, Zelda explained the pros and cons of the streamer vs. parachute after he had asked a rhetorical question. It was interesting and Link couldn’t help but admire this side of Zelda.

“Basically, the choice for our rocket really depends on our launching area. The bigger the area, the larger displacement we can afford for our rocket,” Zelda finished. “Link?”

“Hmm?”

“Your eyes are glazed over.”

“Oh, sorry,” he said. _‘You were just sort of being amazing again… When did I get this mushy?’_

“What was I talking about?”

“Streamers make the rocket fall faster than parachutes, so they’re better for areas where we don’t have a lot of room for the rocket to land.”

“Hey guys!” Sheik said excitedly, racing up to them. He was carrying a small box. “I found our rocket!”

“Really?” Link said. “How did you manage that without me?”

“It called to me, Link. Seriously, this is the best rocket ever. I mean, look at it! It’s got a picture of a yellow dog on a skateboard on it!”

“‘Big Dawg,'” Zelda read. “As opposed to Little Dawg?”

Sheik shook his head in disgust. “You two are sad. Can’t you feel my love for the little red rocket and yellow dog?”

“Fine, we can get your dog rocket,” Link said. “Just make certain no one else is getting Big Dawg.”

“Aye aye, captain!” Sheik danced off with the rocket.

“It always amazes me how energetic he is,” Zelda said.

“At least he isn’t all touchy-feely the way Dark is,” Link said.

“Who’s touchy-feely?” Dark demanded, grabbing Link’s rear. Link kicked Dark in the shin, which made the other boy back off. “Is that Zelda I see?” Link slapped the hands that were covertly creeping toward Zelda’s torso.

“Hello Dark,” Zelda said.

“What are you doing here, my lovely little creature?”

_‘I could ask the same to you,’_ Link thought, eyeing Dark’s hands.

“I’m working with Link and Sheik on a model rocket,” she said.

“Really? Link wouldn’t let me work with him.”

“You want to build Big Bertha,” Link interjected.

Dark stuck his tongue out at Link and then continued talking to Zelda. The conversation shifted to topics Link wasn’t familiar with. He started tuning out the conversation and noticed that Dark and Zelda had forgotten about him. Since Sheik was busy with their rocket and Zelda had Dark, Link figured he’d head home. He clearly wasn’t needed.

As he left Link couldn’t help feeling defeated.

**Saturday—Between meetings #222 and 223**

“Why have you been avoiding me?” was the first thing Zelda said when Link opened his front door.

“And a good afternoon to you too,” Link replied. He shut the door after she stepped inside. “You seem annoyed.”

“Not really,” Zelda said. “Well, I guess I am, but I mostly just want to know why you’ve been acting funny. Finding out why you ditched us yesterday would also be good.”

“Oh, I felt I wasn’t needed, so I left,” Link said.

“Of course you’re needed,” Zelda said, gently socking Link in the shoulder. “Now let’s watch those films.”

“Sure,” Link said, smiling. “We’ll start with _The Voyage of the Dawn Treader_.”

They watched the movie in Link’s living room. Zelda curled up next to Link on the couch. It was the closest Link had ever been to a girl he liked. Since he had seen all the Narnia movies before, Link took this chance to observe Zelda.

Unlike most of the girls he interacted with, Zelda clearly knew her fantasy. She laughed the first time Reepicheep appeared waving his little sword and booed Eustace until he turned into a dragon. At the same time Zelda kept asking Link about changes between the book and film, bringing up points Link had never even noticed.

When Zelda left, Link could barely contain himself. He leapt about the living room a few times until the doorbell rang. Feeling a little sheepish Link answered the door. Sheik and Dark stood on the stoop grinning. Link felt his own grin die.

“And you guys were getting pretty cozy,” Dark added, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “I must say you surprised me.”

“Why did you spy on me?” Link asked.

“Well, we originally came over to take you to see Beowulf,” Dark said, pushing his way into the house.

“But when Dark saw that you had Zelda over, he insisted we stay in his car with the broken AC and watch you two do nothing,” Sheik explained. “He even crawled through your bushes so he could peer through the window up close and personal.”

Link grabbed an unopened newspaper and swatted Dark—who was drinking straight out of a milk carton—across the back of his head. Dark accidentally spit back into the carton. Link shook his head in disgust.

"I thought you had trained him better," Link said to Sheik.

"I'm sorry, dear," Sheik said, "our little monster is untrainable."

"So why did ya have her over," Sheik asked, finishing the milk.

"We were watching a movie," Link said.

"Were you doing anything else?" Dark asked.

"No."

"Did she come on to you?"

"No?"

"I'm sorry man," Dark said, patting Link's back.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Well… I kinda told her you were gay."

"What?" Link yelled, grabbing Dark's shirtfront. “Why did you do that? Do you want me to leave high school a virgin?"

"Hey, this is my cousin you're talking about," Sheik interjected hotly.

"I don't really think I'll ever sleep with Zelda," Link said. "Actually I'm fine with the fact that I'm graduating as a virgin. However, I really want to be kissed by Zelda before I graduate. Or another girl. Or actually, anyone—"

"I'll kiss you," Dark said.

"—with the exception of Dark and Ganondorf Dragmire," Link finished. _'Please Fayor, never let Ganon do anything remotely sexual with me.'_

"Burn," Sheik said.

"Wait a minute, let me get this straight; you'd rather kiss Sheik than me," Dark said.

"I do believe that is what the man is saying," Sheik said.

"Listen Dark," Link said. "You're a great guy, but I know what you put in that mouth of yours."

"I still feel slighted," Dark said. "To gain forgiveness, you'll have to buy my ticket, Link."

"Fine," Link sighed, "let's go." They all left Link's house. Even though he was off to see an awesome movie with his two best friends, Link wished he was still on the couch watching old movies with Zelda.

**Wednesday—Gamer’s Union Meeting #223**

"Where's the wood glue?"

"Got it, Link," Zelda said, handing over the bottle.

Link silently thanked her as he accepted the bottle. Running a thin line of glue across the edge of a fin, Link pressed the fin tightly against the rocket’s body at a 90º angle. When the fin was tightly clamped to the body, he repeated the process three more times. Once all four fins were in place, the excess glue was wiped off and the rocket set down.

“I put the parachute together,” Zelda said, waving around the parachute. The piece of plastic puffed out into a large circle covered with white at purple stripes and drastically slowed down Zelda’s arm. For some reason, the parachute reminded Link of a puffer fish after it had sensed danger.

“Looks good. Any idea where Sheik went?”

Zelda stopped playing with the parachute. “I think he left to have a sticker fight with Dark.”

“I’m not gay, by the way,” Link said suddenly.

Zelda blinked and said slowly, “Okay… I never thought you were.”

Link flushed, realizing that he had just stuck his foot in his mouth. “It’s just that Dark said that he kinda told you that I was gay.”

“He said your hair was gay.”

“Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I’m not… gay.”

“Any reason for why I needed to know if you were gay?”

“Not really—I mean for correctness’s sake you should know and because of…” Link trailed off lamely, uncertain how to say the next part. _‘Because I’d really like to ask you out and gay guys don’t date girls.’_

“Duly noted.”

An awkward silence followed. Link looked around for Sheik again, and noticed he was in the middle of a chess game across the room. Sheik would be of no help to Link. It looked like intelligent conversation would have to be used to keep Zelda interested.

“Are you uncomfortable around me?” Zelda asked.

“What?” Link said in surprise.

“You’ve always seemed really nervous around me and you try to get away as soon as possible. So, I was wondering if you disliked being around me.”

“No, I like being around you,” Link said, laughing nervously. “Cause we’re friends and of course friends like being around her… err, each other, since that’s part of the definition.”

“Right,” Zelda said slowly. “So, are we meeting again Saturday?”

“Yeah, if you want to.”

“I vote we push things back by an hour.”

“Sure, like I said, whenever’s fine.”

“Okay, cool.” Zelda checked her watch. “It’s almost four, so I gotta get going.” She packed up her things before waving goodbye. “Bye Link, see you guys later.” Then she left.

Link sighed in relief after he was certain she was gone. At least this meeting hadn’t ended in complete failure on his part like the last one. If he was smart, Link would start planning for the weekend now. So, since Link didn’t have deku nuts for brains, he did.

**Saturday—Between #223 and 224**

“Hey, so I grabbed Dr. Who instead today so we could take a break from the… hello, Sheik, what are you doing here?” Link said. He had just noticed that Zelda wasn’t alone when Sheik followed her into the house.

“Why Link, I’m hurt that you don’t want me here,” Sheik said. He grabbed Link around the waist. “Don’t you love me anymore?”

Link sighed and pulled Sheik into a loving headlock. “Of course I still love you my dear albino, however I wasn’t expecting you today. Whatever made you decide to come here today, as in right now?”

“I came because I desperately missed you and your—” Sheik broke off and carefully scanned Link. “I was going to say moon crested alabaster skin, but that’s more of my department… ah yes, I’ve missed your silken golden sun kissed locks that are so much fun to run my fingers through late at night and… Well shit, I can’t think of anything else that I like.”

“Thank the Goddesses, I’d start blushing if you could think of anything else.”

“Come on, you know you like this.”

“Flattery does nothing for me.”

“Heretic.”

“Guys,” Zelda said, breaking the routine.

Link flushed and quickly let go of Sheik. Not expecting Link’s reaction, Sheik hit the floor due to his lack of decent footing. Link ignored his griping friend and helped Zelda set things up in the living room.

“I know how I rate,” Sheik said snidely. In retaliation for Link’s misdeeds, Sheik sprawled across the couch. “Zelda, there’s a chair over there for you. Link, sorry buddy, but you’ll have to sit on the floor.”

“You’re not sorry in the least,” Link said.

“You’re right, I’m not,” Sheik said brightly.

“Git,” Link said under his breath as he shoved Sheik’s feet off the couch. He sat down heavily. Sheik stuck his feet in Link’s lap. Link pushed them off him again and whispered, “You’re acting worse than Dark.”

“I resent that.”

“Look, she just left the room. Dark never chases anyone away.”

Sheik got up and stuck his tongue out at Link. “At least I’m not useless like he is.” He squatted down next to the DVD player and opened a DVD case. “We’re watching _Howl’s Moving Castle_ whether you like it or not.”

“Fine,” Link said.

Sheik leapt onto the chair he had previously designated for Zelda. When Zelda actually came back into the room, she seemed a bit surprised at the seating change. She sat down next to Link after Sheik had explained that Link had offended his “masculine sensibilities.”

Sheik’s film choice seemed to go over well. The man himself seemed immersed in the film. Zelda also had her attention captured. The only person who wasn’t interested in the film was Link, and that was only because he had seen the film several times before; after all, he did own it.

When the movie was over, Sheik started expounding on the wonders of Link’s grilled cheese sandwiches. Getting the hint, Link got up and pulled out the right supplies to make them. By the time the first sandwich was in the pan, Zelda had come to help out.

“Do you want me to put together a couple more sandwiches?” Zelda asked.

“Sure,” Link said, glancing at Zelda.

After a moment Zelda asked, “What was that display earlier with Sheik? I mean it was kinda funny, but definitely a bit different.”

“You’ve met Sheik, right?” Link asked, flipping a sandwich.

“Yeah, I know him pretty well,” Zelda said.

“You also know Dark.”

“Yes.”

“Ever heard of Oscar Wilde?”

“ _The Importance of Being Ernest_ , right?”

“Shakespeare?”

“Umm, duh. Is there a point to this?” Zelda asked.

“Be quiet you,” Link said, slapping a sandwich onto her plate. “I’m telling a story here.”

“Okay, geeze.”

“In second grade, Dark, Sheik, and I were in the same class. We were all in Miss Saria’s class.”

“Very nice lady,” Sheik said, entering the kitchen. “I liked her.”

“Shut up, please,” Link said. Sheik just smiled as he stole the cooked sandwich. “Anyway, so while the rest of us were struggling to learn how to read, Sheik was bored. He had already finished reading the books we had.”

“I learned how to read when I was three,” Sheik added.

“Don’t make me hit you with this,” Link warned, waving the spatula threateningly. “So when Miss Saria saw he was bored, she told him to take the book from her desk. She meant her copy of _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_. Instead he grabbed her copy of _The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde_.”

“It was this big old book that smelled great,” Sheik said fondly.

“He read the entire thing in a week. And he actually understood it. Miss. Saria was stunned, but delighted. She gave him Shakespeare.”

“This is fascinating,” Zelda said, “but what does this have to do with the odd greeting?”

“Dark and I hung out with Sheik because he told great stories,” Link continued. “On Sheik’s instruction, we started acting out the plays. A big favorite for Dark and Sheik was the one with the girl who was a boy who was a girl.”

“ _As You Like It_ ,” Sheik explained.

“We kept doing this and the plays usually turned into complicated adventure romances with a lot of characters so we were constantly switching parts. One time Dark had a love triangle where he was all three participants. Anyway, when we lost recess, we lost our ‘play’ time and the only thing that’s survived is the romantic declarations of love,” Link finished.

“That was the part that always had us in stitches as kids,” Sheik added.

“I wish I went to elementary school with you,” Zelda said.

“What I don’t get is why I’m always getting proposed to,” Link said.

“You’re not eloquent enough to propose,” Sheik explained. He got swatted on the head with the spatula. “Seriously, you usually just say ‘hello’ when you come over to my place. No mention of my wit, or my abs of steel, or how you’ve desperately counted down the seconds until you could see my face again. Nothing!”

The rest of the meal passed in relative peace. Both Sheik and Zelda had to agree though, Link made amazing grilled cheese sandwiches. Zelda had seconds and Sheik even had thirds. After Link cut Sheik off though, the boy left.

“I guess I should get going too,” Zelda sighed.

“You don’t have to,” Link said.

“Hey, Link… could you try greeting me?” Zelda asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Link said. When he noticed her look he said in surprise, “Wait a minute, you mean right now? I can’t think of anything on the fly. Sheik always says that’s my problem.”

“Come on, give it a shot,” Zelda said.

“Okay,” Link laughed. After a moment he got down on one knee in front of Zelda. “Dear sweet princess, I kneel here before you as your lowly servant, unfit to be in your presence. Your regal beauty is unmatched and makes even the goddesses jealous. Your wit and wisdom outstrip all else because it makes you benevolent and gorgeous and… I can’t think of anything else.”

“No, that was really good,” Zelda said, helping Link to his feet. “Maybe it wasn’t very Shakespearean, but it was done and I’m sorry I put you on the spot.”

“Oh, that’s okay, Zel,” Link said, flushing.

“I mean it, that was great,” she said. “I even—” she broke off when her cell phone went off. A quick glance at the screen caused Zelda to sigh. “It’s my dad. I gotta go.” She stared at Link for a moment, almost hesitantly, before confidently ruffling his hair. She left right after that.

_‘I really hope I didn’t sound too idiotic,’_ Link thought.

**Wednesday—Gamer’s Union Meeting #224**

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Link asked.

“Relax, Link,” Sheik said, shaking a can of spray paint. “I’m a tagging pro.”

“Pro or not,” Link said dubiously—there was no way Mr. Middle English was proficient with spray paint—as he looked around, “shouldn’t we wait for Zelda?”

“Why bother? She’s late, her loss. I wanna assemble this bird and we can’t do that until it’s painted.”

“It is assembled.”

“The cone isn’t connected to the parachute and that isn’t connected to the body. Surely even you know that needs to be done.”

Link glowered. Of course he knew to connect the parachute; only an idiot could forget. Rockets broke into tiny unusable pieces if there wasn’t a way to slow their descent.

Sheik sprayed the cone with black paint. The cone was speckled with black dots of paint, but still mostly white. A black halo formed around the cone on the newspaper. The albino spent ten minutes trying to get a solid coat on one spot on the rocket. He failed miserably.

“Hey guys,” Zelda greeted them. “Sorry I’m late.”

“This is hopeless!” Sheik wailed, dropping the spray paint can. Link caught the can before it hit the ground.

“What’s the problem?” Zelda asked.

“Sheik can’t use spray paint,” Link said.

“Can you?” Sheik said grumpily back to Link.

“No, but I didn’t call myself a ‘master tagger’ either.”

“I can finish it,” Zelda said. “Come on, give me the can.”

Link happily handed over the can. He didn’t have to try and paint anything. Zelda pushed both boys away from the table to get a better look at the cone. She picked it up and started spraying it. By rotating the cone and slightly twisting the can, Zelda was able to spray an even layer of black paint. When she finished the cone, she went on and used the same method to get the body painted bright red.

“I guess we know who should do the detail work,” Link said.

“They’ll probably be dry in an hour,” Zelda said. “Until then, we can see how the other groups are doing.”

Leaving Sheik to baby-sit Big Dawg, Zelda and Link got up to see the other groups’ rockets. Malon was wildly spraying her rocket black while Colin stood meekly beside her, trying not to get in the way. They were too busy for Link to bother, so the pair of blondes continued on their way. Ralph and Kafei were busy sticking purple stickers on a blue rocket. They were arguing about whether the stickers were being put on straight or not.

_‘Those guys are too picky,’_ Link thought, trying not to laugh. _‘It really doesn’t matter if the stickers are off by a degree or two. No one will notice.’_

“Link! Link! Link!” Dark yelled, jumping onto Link’s back.

Link, who hadn’t been expecting the ambush, stumbled forward into the table where Ralph and Kafei were working. There was a loud thud on impact and the entire table shook. Link wasn’t too happy about having a rocket shoved into his nose either.

“What the hell are you doing?” Ralph yelled, hitting Link on the top of his head. “You nearly destroyed our rocket!”

“Blame Dark,” Link said. “I wouldn’t have hit the table and gotten a lovely close up to your rocket if he hadn’t jumped on me.” Ralph just hit him on the head again.

“Don’t hit him on the head,” Zelda said, moving forward. “You’re killing brain cells and Link needs as many as he can possibly keep. If you need to hit him, hit him somewhere else.”

“You’re right,” Ralph said. He pushed Link’s face off the table so that both boys went tumbling to the ground.

“Heavy,” Dark moaned from under Link.

Link quickly scrambled off Dark, just in time so that he didn’t get stomped on by Ralph. Dark wasn’t so lucky; Ralph managed to step right on the zipper of Dark’s pants, Zelda helped Link to his feet. He then quickly waved goodbye to Ralph and Dark before scurrying away. There was no way Link was sticking around to save Dark. When Link and Zelda got back to their own table, Sheik greeted them with a salute.

“You didn’t have to be so mean, Zel,” Link said.

“What else would have gotten him to stop?” Zelda asked. When Link didn’t say anything, she said, “Look, it all worked out, didn’t it? And about Saturday, I’ll call you about it, kay?”

“Sure,” Link said.

Zelda nodded to both of the boys. She left shortly after that. Sheik and Link looked at each other before shrugging.

“I wonder what she’s got planned,” Sheik said absently. “Ah well, shall we connect the cone to the body?”

**Saturday—Between #224 and 225**

Link paced across the room for the twentieth time. Zelda was three hours late. At first Link hadn’t noticed because he had been lost in his gaming. Then he figured that she had decided to come at the same time as last week and was simply a bit late. He threw that theory out an hour ago.

_‘Did I make her mad in class yesterday?’_ Link wondered. _‘She seemed cheerful enough. I think she even winked at me once.’_

Link circled the living room again. He checked the front yard again for her vehicle under the guise of checking for mail. He already brought in the mail an hour ago.

Zelda never called like she said she would. Link knew; he was home most of the time. He got his grandfather to teach him how to use the answering machine before the old man left for his business trip. Zelda hadn’t left any messages.

He had also thought about calling her, but then realized that he didn’t have her number. Link tried calling Sheik for Zelda’s number— close cousins normally had each other’s numbers—but then found out that he and Dark had already left for the capitol to see the Gerudo Woman’s lacrosse game. They would be of no help.

Link sagged into the couch. He flipped on the TV and picked up the lasagna he had heated up earlier. Since she hadn’t shown up, she probably wasn’t going to come. He figured that he might as well stop fretting and watch some Battlestar Galactica reruns.

Just as Starbuck crash-landed on a planet, the doorbell rang. Link accidentally dropped his plate of lasagna onto his chest. He managed to scrape most of the lukewarm food back onto the plate, but there was already a large orange stain setting in on his shirt.

The bell rang two more times before Link managed to get to the door. On the other side stood Zelda, in a light blue blouse and a pair of nice black slacks. She seemed just as surprised to see Link, as he was to see her.

“You’re not ready,” Zelda said after a moment, staring at the large orange splotch all across Link’s shirt.

“You’re three hours late,” Link said. “What’s with the fancy get up?”

“I’m taking you out,” Zelda said. “I called on Thursday and you thought it was a great idea, since we’ve spent the last couple Saturdays here.”

“What were we gonna do?” Link asked, thinking fast.

“Just dinner and a movie,” Zelda said, “but I didn’t think you would wear something with… pizza sauce all over it.”

“It’s actually lasagna sauce. Wait, did you say that we talked yesterday?”

“Extensively, although you seemed a little out of it.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Link said when he finally realized what was going on.

“Kill who?”

“My grandpa. We sound exactly alike on the phone. He was way too cheerful when he left on his business trip. That old geezer is dead when he gets back.”

“You don’t have to go to such extremes. It was just a phone call.”

“No, he always does this. He likes pretending to be me on the phone and then never tells me that someone called for me. He once spent half an hour talking to Ruto when I was twelve and ever since then she’s thought we were engaged.”

Zelda had to laugh at that. “It’s no big deal, Link. If you want, we can skip hanging out today. I did catch you off guard.”

“But it looks like you already planned everything out,” Link protested. “I know you, when you put your mind to something, you plan everything out to the last detail.”

“I did buy tickets,” Zelda admitted, “and made reservations.”

“Look, just give me ten, fifteen minutes,” Link said. “I’ll get changed, and find shoes so we can go, okay?”

He ran up the stairs before Zelda could answer. In record time Link was able to change into his favorite forest green shirt, some white pants, and his ‘good’ shoes. He was down the stairs again as soon as he was done.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” he said, panting slightly. “Believe me, if I had known, I would have been ready.”

“It’s fine. Let’s go.”

As they walked to Zelda’s car, Link couldn’t help noticing Zelda carefully tuck his shirt tag back into the collar. It was a little embarrassing having her do that for him, so he was thankful she didn’t say anything. He didn’t either.

Luckily the beginning was the most awkward part of the evening out. Zelda had made reservations for the restaurant Telma’s, a down to earth bar and grill. Since he wasn’t paying, Link tried to order conservatively, but his dinner partner (Link didn’t know if he was allowed to call her his date) didn’t seem to mind. They had a pleasant talk about light speed travel.

After that they drove to the movie theater. It turned out that Zelda had gotten tickets to see The Golden Compass. It was good that she bought tickets earlier because there was a large line to buy them now.

The movie was excellent, much better than the monstrosity _The Dark is Rising_ had been turned into. Zelda had racked Sheik’s brain for a movie Link hadn’t seen, so for once they were both excitedly experiencing something for the first time together. They had fun watching Lyra dash about on screen. Link almost forgot about Zelda a few times during the film.

When the movie was over, Zelda took Link home. The ride was silent, but for once it wasn’t awkward. Link wasn’t the only one to get out of the car when they arrived. Zelda walked Link up to his front door.

“So I guess this is goodbye,” Link said, laughing slightly. He unlocked the front door and gave Zelda a smile. “Or would you rather come in?”

“I should get going,” Zelda said. “Thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for inviting me.”

There was another silence as Link glanced at Zelda. She was looking down at her shoes as she fiddled with the hem of her blouse.

_‘Should I kiss her?’_ Link wondered. _‘Would she like that or slap me? Blast it, I need to figure things out now before she leaves!’_

Zelda took the decision out of Link’s hands. She wrapped her arms around Link’s neck and pulled him down into a kiss. Link was more than a little bit surprised when she did this; then again Zelda had taken the initiative on everything else, so he really shouldn’t have been.

After a few moments Zelda pulled back, but didn’t let go of him. She looked up at him hesitantly, not seeming as confident as she had been earlier this evening. They stared at each other for a moment. Link realized that Zelda was waiting for his reaction. It was up to him to make the next move.

Link smiled gently as he stroked Zelda’s cheek. “Hey,” he whispered, bumping their foreheads together. “If you had just wanted to kiss me, you didn’t have to buy me dinner.”

“But I still had to take you out to a movie?” she asked.

“I didn’t mean that!” Link said, startled.

Zelda laughed, relaxing again. She pulled away from Link, but gave him a sly smile. “Maybe I wanted to turn expectations on their head.”

“You’ve done that tenfold,” Link assured. “Believe me, I will never assume you will do anything. Or, for that matter, not do anything. In fact, I should just let you lead.”

“Let me lead?”

“Follow you forever.”

“Excellent,” Zelda laughed, walking away.

“Don’t forget though!” Link yelled after her. “You’re expected to show on Wednesday! We’re shooting the rockets off!”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

**Wednesday—Gamer’s Union Meeting #225**

“Gamer’s Union members,” Malon said, “present your rockets.”

Five rockets of various colors, sizes, and fin numbers appeared. Link silently read of the rockets’ names: Big Dawg, Saber, Wizard, Big Bertha, and Fat Boy. The last name made Link laugh.

Malon slid her rocket, Saber, onto the launching stand. After she had hooked up all the wiring, cleared a ten-foot radius around the rocket, and found the launching key, Malon ignited the engine. It let out a billow of smoke and the rocket shot up into the sky. When the rocket was just a tiny little speck in the sky, the top came off and a sparking red streamer flew out. Slowly, then faster and faster the rocket fell until the toy landed roughly sixty feet away from the launching pad.

Rocket after rocket shot off. All of the rockets were dazzling to behold. The entire area smelled of sulfur, but they were having too much fun to care. Soon there was only one engine left (Malon had allotted only four engines to a group, two per person). That single engine belonged to Link’s group, mainly because they had yet to decide who could shoot their rocket twice.

“I’m going to bow out of this fight,” Link said. Zelda and Sheik looked ready to kill each other for the last engine. “Maybe you two should decide this by rock-paper-scissors.”

“Excellent idea,” Sheik said. “Zelda?”

“Agreed.”

“Perfect.”

Sheik and Zelda held their hands out in front of them and patted one fist on top of their other hand’s palm. Suddenly Link grabbed Zelda around the waist and tickled her. Shrieking with laughter, Zelda doubled over. Sheik also started laughing because he had just won by default. He quickly grabbed the engine and Big Dawg to reload.

Zelda slapped Link across the chest. “What in Din’s fury possessed you to do that?”

“Come on, Zel,” Link said. “I didn’t want to see you guys kill each other over an engine. As the more mature one, I thought you could let the monkey have his banana.”

“Yeah, Zel, let me have my banana,” Sheik chimed in.

“But—“

Link quickly grabbed Zelda by the arm and pulled her out of the danger zone by the launching pad. Sheik happily slid the rocket onto the stand after fixing up the wiring. Everyone gathered, focusing their attention on the rocket. Link and Zelda stood behind the majority of the crowd. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

Setting his chin on Zelda’s shoulder, Link whispered, “The reason I didn’t want you firing the last rocket was because I wanted to hold you for a bit. I know you wouldn’t let me hold you if you were in Sheik’s position right now, and this way we don’t have everyone staring at us. Besides, I’d like some cheesy romantic moments.”

The Gamer’s Union members started counting down for the last rocket’s blast off.

“Does this count as a cheesy moment?” Zelda asked.

“I think it does,” Link said.

Sheik hit the ignition button.

“That’s pretty romantic of you,” Zelda said, “but you owe me a rocket launch.”

Their little red rocket soared up into the sky.

“Of course,” Link said. “I promise you we’ll go fly rockets real soon. Just you and me.”

The rocket’s parachute flew out and expanded. It slowly sank back to earth.

“I’m holding you to that,” Zelda said.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Big Dawg floated down slowly enough that Zelda was able to pluck it out of the air. “I was right about choosing the parachute,” she said.

Link just laughed. The Ordon Gamer’s Union’s #225th meeting was officially over. It was the best meeting Link had ever attended.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story years ago when The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was still a recent home release. Only just realized I never posted the fic on this site.


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